The General Directorate of Customs (DGA) reported this Friday (29.09.2022) that it discovered a series of exports to Chile in which the The merchandise involved had been declared as fatty acid —specifically, olein: a product of the chemical industry obtained from reprocessing used oils—actually consisted of soybean oil.
In a statement, the agency indicated that "the cases detected and reported so far involve movements of More than 80 tonnes of this, which is why the entire operation of the firm is now under analysis."
According to the details, "the procedure, carried out by specialized agents of the DGA-AFIP, has reasons to believe that The Argentine exporting company and the Chilean importer belong to the same economic group, which through coordinated deception sought to evade at several levels."
In this regard, the DGA explained: "On the one hand, The declared prices for fatty acid exports are around 30% below the official prices set for soybean oil exports.«. The agency then concluded that given the differences in the tax treatment of both types of merchandise, «Undue reduction of export duties is over 90%«.
In addition,"Olein has more than ten times longer terms to enter the foreign currency from its exports into the country", added the DGA.
In response, the agency filed a criminal complaint against the operation. Additionally, by order of the Federal Court No. 1 of Mendoza, it carried out two raids on the company involved and the customs agent, in which computer media, documentation and other elements of interest to the case were seized. The raids also included the participation of the Argentine National Gendarmerie.
To detect such irregularity, the DGA stressed that "it was of vital importance for the identification of the maneuvers the exchange of information with Chilean customs, as provided for in the SAFE regulatory framework of the World Customs Organization (WCO).”
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